Russian issuers have raised $3 billion with securities issues so far this year, compared to $1.5 billion in all of 2001, Federal Securities Commission head Igor Kostikov said on Thursday.

"I think this is a very high qualitative indicator of the development of the Russian securities market," Kostikov said at the fifth national conference of professional securities market participants in St. Petersburg. Stocks have now become the main financial asset of the Russian securities market, he said.

The reform of the collective investment system in Russia will be completed in coming weeks, after which Russian asset management companies will begin setting up new mutual funds, Kostikov said. Many companies have already approached the securities commission with requests to set up new funds, he said.

The number of mutual funds in Russia increased by ten in the first nine months of 2002, and their net assets grew by 1 billion rubles, Kostikov said. "Next year will be a year of real development for mutual investment funds in Russia," he said.